Today, both the public and private transport sectors are facing challenges as a result of an increase in vehicle ownership and the suburbanisation of both firms and residences in the world. In the past, public transport ...

A new higher order theory of laminated anisotropic shells for the solution of thermal
stress problems that takes into account transverse shear stresses is developed.The theory is based on the kinematic hypotheses that ...

This article discusses the reuse of a thermoset-based epoxy polymer. In this method, cured epoxy polymer is ground to powder of particle size ranging from 1 to 30 μm. The ground epoxy is then filled in an epoxy polymer to ...

Globally there is renewed interest in the production of alternate fuels in the form of bioethanol and biodiesel. This is mainly due to the realization that crude oil stocks are limited hence the swing towards more renewable ...

A model simulating the effects of the control potential on the static configuration of a piezo-elastic structure is presented. This model is centred on the electric displacement field, which is shown to be divergence free. ...

The structural transformation of vacancy voids in the grain boundary region of the bicrystal under the influence of post-cascade shock waves is studied with the aid of molecular dynamics simulations. It is shown that the ...

This study examines an active control model in which the open circuit mode is assumed. A finite element model in which only the displacement field is approximated is developed. The charge–potential relationship is incorporated ...

Stress analysis of multilayered pressure vessels possessing cylindrical anisotropy and under internal, external and interlaminar pressures is given. The special case when the axis of anisotropy coincides with the axis of ...

On-time completion and conformity with assigned cost of every project are the most important factors in the success of project plans. Cost overruns and time overrun (delays) have been critical problems of many projects ...

Reaction times of drivers responding to traffic wardens'. signals are important for the design and safe operations of roads. The increased number of road users and pedestrians lead to increasing demands on the facilities ...

Failures in polymeric housed surge arresters have recently increased. This has resulted in a number of studies being done in order to establish the condition of surge arresters whilst in service, the aim being to remove ...

Polymer nanocomposites may be defined as structures that are formed by infusing
layered-silicate clay into a thermosetting orthermoplastic polymer matrix. The
nanocomposites are normally particle-filled polymers for ...

Accurate optimal design solutions for most engineering structures present considerable difficulties due to the complexity and multi-modality of the functional design space. The situation is made even more complex when ...

A procedure to design symmetrically laminated plates under buckling loads for minimum mass with manufacturing uncertainty in the ply angle, which is the design variable, is described. A minimum buckling load capacity is ...

This article describes a procedure to design symmetrically laminated plates for maximum buckling load with manufacturing uncertainty in the ply angle, which is the design variable. It is assumed that the probability of any ...

A methodology for stiffness improvement by optimal orientation of fibers placed using fiber steering techniques of composite plates has been developed and is described here. A genetic algorithm is employed to determine the ...

A methodology for using genetic algorithms with the finite element method to minimise a weighted sum of the mass and deflection of fibre reinforced structures with several design variables is described. The design constraint ...

The annual incidence of pedestrian casualties on South African roads is
approximately 34 000. This includes 4 000 deaths, 10 000 serious injuries and
20 000 minor injuries, costing the country an estimated R2,55 billion. ...